Trump Backs Away from Tax Cuts

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is not currently considering any tax cuts.

“I’m not looking at a tax cut now,” Trump said while talking to reporters on the White House lawn.

Trump has faced a difficult challenge in recent weeks, seeking measures that will boost economic growth without scaring U.S. consumers and investors about the risk of a recession. On Tuesday, Trump discussed tax cuts in a way that suggested his administration was mulling options such as a payroll tax cut.

On Wednesday, he seems to have decided to emphasize the strength of the economy rather than efforts to boost growth.

“We don’t need it. We have a strong economy,” Trump said.

Trump said he was not currently pursuing either a payroll tax cut or to index capital gains for inflation. The latter would be viewed as “elitist,” Trump said.

A tax cut would likely boost consumer spending, providing insurance against further economic slowness. But it would also raise budget deficits and might create the impression that economic conditions are worse than they are.